Mark 1:1-8
1 The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, 2 as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
“I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way”—
3 “a voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’”
4 And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 6 John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
“The Mystery Hoped For”
There is a lot of mystery in our religion. Today we look the end in the eye and are not afraid, for we wait for what God has promised, a new heaven and a new earth.
There is a lot of mystery when we get close to God. Perhaps the greatest mystery is grace - that God will never give up on us. He waits patiently, lovingly, eternally, for our turning to Him and then as a Shepherd gathers and carries us in his Bosom. This is the mystery we hope for - and live in! The mystery of Christmas!
“The Mystery Foretold”
Today we are reminded not to rush headlong into our celebration of Christmas. To not start the celebrating until we have had time to be still and discover again how deep is God’s love.
We are reminded that we may well need to clean up our own act first, to come to repentance and open ourselves to change, before we can really celebrate Christmas.
Repentance - sounds like pouring cold water on a happy time, but it isn’t. It is the way to make a happy time happier. For it opens us to the joy of forgiveness and the joy of Christmas. God waits for us to come to repentance, so God can love us in a way which makes a real difference in our lives. So God can soften our hard hearts and make us more loving, as God is loving.
There is something of Scrooge in all of us. We are reminded today to confess this so we can truly celebrate the mystery of Christmas.
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